So the force on a charged particle in a magnetic field is the cross product of the velocity of the particle's velocity and the direction of the field. What I am wondering about is why the "right-hand" rule works, and not the "left-hand" rule. What is the fundamental principle that causes a positively charged particle to travel to the left instead of the right or vice versa?
2007-12-11 02:50:14 · 4 answers · asked by socplayer8 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The sign of the field is an arbitrary mathematical convention. The B-field is just a book-keeping tool for quantifying the Lorentz Transformation.of the retarded Coulomb potential of a moving charge. If you have a solenoid with circulating electrons in the wall, for example, and a free electron shoots in from the outside, it will deflect clockwise or clockwise depending on the whether or not the solenoid electrons are rotating that way too, or visa versa. I haven't bothered to figure out which.
.
2007-12-12 15:28:30 · answer #1 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's no fundamental principle, at least physically. If in the beginning, people have defined the electron as carrying positive charge and the proton as carrying negative charge, the rule would be the "left-hand rule". Philosophically, this could reflect a long tradition of bias in wester thought, where 'left' is associated with evil and incorrectness (c.f. the word 'sinister', which means "of the left side" originally). And so when choosing to define a so-called positive orientation, the first physicists/mathematicians defined it using a right-handed rotation.
The matter is only a question of convention. One could also 'define' the cross-product as having the opposite direction from the one most people use nowadays, then you can use the 'left-hand rule' to your heart's content.
2007-12-11 03:48:40 · answer #2 · answered by jaz_will 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
say a as electricity(present day) and b as magnetism the made from those 2(a,b) is c in case you comprehend the thumb rule you may comprehend it unquestionably. If image is going into the exhibit then magnetism would be revolving around the exhibit clock smart and vice-verse if image is popping out of the exhibit. see the source link that i gave for extra information
2016-11-02 21:37:50 · answer #3 · answered by edmondson 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because God is right handed
2007-12-11 03:15:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋